The home robots you can wait in line for (2026)

Home robots

Home robots worth waiting in line for

CES is full of butlers that never ship. Our pick is 1X NEO, because it is the only home humanoid with a deposit and a 2026 delivery promise. Amazon Astro if you want an invite only Alexa on wheels. Labrador Retriever if you need a shelf that comes to you. It is only a short time before at least one of these is in living rooms.

Updated August 2026

1X NEO home humanoid in a tan knit suit, studio profile of the head, ear ring, and torso

Our pick

1X NEO

1X Technologies

The only home humanoid you can put a deposit on.

$20,000 Early Access or $499/mo later

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NEO is 5’6″ and about 66 pounds, with a soft 3D lattice body and a machine washable knit suit in tan, gray, or dark brown. 1X says it is quieter than a fridge (22 dB), can lift over 150 pounds and carry 55, and runs about four hours. Day one jobs are the boring useful ones: fetch something, open a door, kill the lights. The laundry folding reel is real as a demo; complex chores still lean on scheduled Expert Mode, where a 1X operator can remotely guide it. Hands are waterproof; the rest of it is not. Early Access is $20,000 with priority 2026 US delivery and a three year warranty; the $499/month plan (six month minimum) ships later. A $200 refundable deposit holds the spot. The Hayward factory is running. Treat 2026 delivery as the company’s promise, not a tracking number. As of August 2026 there is still no clear first party confirmation of broad customer drop offs.

Most people circling this one are not buying a finished butler. They are buying a place in line for the first home humanoid that has a price and a deposit.

What reviewers tend to say

Pros

  • Real pre order, not a booth demo
  • Quiet and light enough for a house
  • Skills supposed to grow over software

Cons

  • $20,000, or $499 a month later
  • Hard chores still need a remote expert
  • 2026 delivery is still a promise

Specs that matter

Size
5’6″ / ~66 lb; 22 DoF hands
Payload
Lift >150 lb, carry 55 lb (1X)
Runtime
~4 hours; 22 dB
Colors
Tan, Gray, Dark Brown
Availability
Pre order; $200 deposit; US 2026 promised, other markets 2027
Catch
Expert Mode is human teleoperation with owner authorization; ear rings change color when a remote operator is in
Amazon Astro home robot, white and gray rolling body with screen face, on a sunlit wooden floor

Also consider

Amazon Astro

Amazon (Day 1 Editions)

The only home robot sitting on a major storefront today.

$1,599 invite only

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Astro is Alexa with a periscope camera, a cargo bin, and wheels. You send it to check a room from your phone, it can flag a face it does not know, and it will haul a small thing from the kitchen. Ring home monitoring is the job; the follow me personality is extra. Amazon killed Astro for Business in 2024 to focus on this home model. It has been invitation only since 2021 and still is. The live listing is $1,599 as a Day 1 Edition. Reviewers who lived with one treated it as a roaming indoor camera that also plays music, not as a maid. Advanced patrol features sit behind a Ring Home subscription after a trial.

What people like about it is that it already exists in houses. Reviewers tend to call it a rolling Echo Show with a security camera, which is both the compliment and the limit.

What reviewers tend to say

Pros

  • You can request an invite today
  • Patrols and video when you are out
  • Cargo bin for small fetches

Cons

  • Still invitation only after years
  • $1,599 for a rolling Echo
  • Real patrol wants a Ring subscription

Specs that matter

Job
Indoor patrol, Alexa, small carries
Price
$1,599 on the Amazon listing
Availability
Invite only Day 1 Edition
Privacy
Mics/cameras off with one button; out of bounds zones in the app
Extra
30 day Ring Home trial on the current listing
Labrador Retriever assistive robot, a wheeled maple-and-charcoal shelf with two white trays

Alternative

Labrador Retriever

Labrador Systems

The rare home robot whose job fits in one sentence.

~$1,500 + ~$100/mo old reservation estimate, not a live checkout price

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Not a humanoid. A powered shelf on wheels that rises and lowers so you do not have to. Meals, a laundry basket, the thing you cannot carry because of pain or injury. App, voice (including Alexa), or a schedule. 3D vision through doorways, then it docks itself. Labrador has shown this since CES 2022. Retriever Pro is going to care providers first (On Lok PACE, Eskaton, Masonic Homes of California among them). A home Caddie was quoted around $1,499 plus about $99 a month in the 2022 early reservation program. That program is closed. Do not treat $1,500 as a street price you can pay today. It is the last public consumer estimate, while fleet units are the ones moving.

Reviewers tend to say this is the home robot that looks useful on day one, because it is not trying to fold your socks.

What reviewers tend to say

Pros

  • Does one job well
  • Built for real mobility limits
  • Already in care provider homes

Cons

  • No public buy button for individuals
  • Only old reservation pricing on file
  • Will not clean, cook, or chat

Specs that matter

Job
Carry and raise/lower items; meals, laundry, reach
Models
Retriever Pro (care providers) and a planned home Caddie/Retriever
Last consumer estimate
~$1,499 + ~$99 to $149/mo for 36 months (2022 reservation; closed)
Availability
Fleet to care providers; individual timing unannounced
Control
App, voice, schedule; auto dock

Look Then Leap, 2026. Not affiliated with 1X, Amazon, Labrador, Tesla, or Samsung.

For housework that already runs while you are out, see the robot vacuums we would buy.

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